Greens to bring Holyrood vote on funding for arms firms linked to Gaza conflict
The Scottish Greens will force a vote this week in Holyrood on funding sent to companies involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The party claims £1 million has been given to arms companies by the Government’s commercial arm, Scottish Enterprise, since the outbreak of hostilities following the October 7 attack in 2023.
Scottish Green MSPs have regularly criticised the payments, which the Government told the BBC last year were for research, training and apprenticeships.
Ahead of Wednesday’s debate, co-leader Lorna Slater said: “Israel’s assault on Gaza is one of the worst war crimes of this century.
“There is no justification for the collective punishment and mass killing they have inflicted.
“The Israeli government has been condemned by the International Criminal Court and every reputable human rights organisation for the atrocities it has carried out against Palestinians, and now it is working with Donald Trump to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
“The Scottish Government has rightly stood against the genocide, but it continues to give public money to the arms dealers who are directly enabling it.
“Scotland can’t control UK foreign policy, but we can control where our public money goes and the companies and industries that we choose to support.
“It’s time for the Scottish Government to put their money where their mouth is and end all subsidies for the war profiteers making such a killing.”
A spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise said: “Our role as Scotland’s national economic development agency is to support economic growth and create high-value jobs.
“Our support for defence companies is consistent with Scottish and UK Government policies, and we make it clear to those businesses, through legally binding contracts, that our help can only be used to deliver agreed projects in Scotland.
“None of the projects we support involves the manufacture of munitions or weaponry.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government and its enterprise and skills agencies do not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions.
“Support for defence sector companies is focused on helping firms to diversify their activities and technologies, ensuring Scotland continues to benefit from significant economic returns and thousands of jobs in the sector.
“Export licensing is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government continues to call for an end to all licences for arms exports from the United Kingdom to Israel.”
